BITUMEN
BITUMEN
Bitumen is a low-grade of crude oil which is composed of complex, heavy hydrocarbons. In an oil reservoir, bitumen is a thick, viscous fluid and must be extracted from the ground. When extracting it, a lot of heat and effort must be used to upgrade it to a better product. Although bitumen is hard to extract from the ground, it can bubble naturally to the surface of the Earth in petroleum seeps. These seeps are places where fossil fuels and petroleum products leak out of the Earth instead of being trapped deep below the ground. In these seeps, bitumen, asphalt, and tar bubble up into pools. Additionally, bitumen is the main fossil fuel component of oil sands. When bitumen combines with asphaltines a solid is formed that is useful for paving roads.
Specification:
| Bitumen | TEST METHOD | UNIT | Specification |
| Specific gravity @ 25°C | ASTM D70 | Kg/cm3 | 1.01/1.06 |
| Penetration @ 25°C | ASTM D5 | mm/10 | 80/100 |
| Softening point °C | ASTM D36 | °C | 42/50 |
| Ductility @25 °C | ASTM D113 | cm | 100 min |
| Loss on heating(wt) % | ASTM D6 | wt % | 0.2 max |
| Drop in penetration after heating % | ASTM D5-d6 | % | 20 max |
| Flashpoint °C | ASTM D-92 | °C | 250 max |
| Solubility in CS2(wt) % | ASTM D4 | wt % | 99.5 min |
| Spot test | A.A.S.H.O.T102 | Negative |